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Congratulatory message to South Africa for holding free and fair government elections
Movement for Democratic Change
May 30, 2011

The MDC local government wishes to congratulate the South Africans for holding peaceful elections on the 18th of May 2011. In those elections the African National Congress largely emerged with a fresh mandate to lead the local government in South Africa.

As a matter of public record, these elections were held in a peaceful, transparent manner. Both winners and losers willfully accepted the people's verdict mainly because of open manner in which the polls were conducted.

We in Zimbabwe yearn for the day a similar situation will present itself to us following decades of Zanu PF tyranny and dictatorship. This heavily compromised the secrecy of the vote; celebrated Zanu PF violence as a campaign and coercive tool; and allowed for anarchy to rein in the determination of people's will. Of particular concern to the MDC is the unending desire of the military and the security establishment in Zimbabwe to continue to meddle in a civil order of the country by perpetuating a de-facto of emergency in a nation.

Further, political corruption, ballot stuffing, ethnic score-settling and pure political sadism remain sad hallmark to our electoral management system.

Zimbabweans can only envy the people of South Africa for their achievement of true democracy. The latest remarks by Brigadier General Douglas Nyikayaramba, a senior military official, calling for an election this year are totally unhelpful as they smack of a deliberate attempt to pursue a culture of interference with a universal sentiment that abhors the railroading of a nation towards an illegitimate and insecure election.

Nyikayaramba and those of his ilk are clearly overstepping the constitutional mandate and are better advised to steer away from civilian processes essential for the good governance of the nation. The MDC wishes to implore on the nation to ignore Nyikayaramba's misguided political tantrums as they fall outside the boundaries of the basic duties of the military and its commissioned officers.

Free and open elections ensure that elected representatives acquire clear legitimacy and true authority. This inevitably leads to public faith and trust in these institutions.

As a party of excellence, the MDC solidly stands behind President Jacob Zuma, the ANC and all the South Africans for their maturity and guidance to the region. We are particularly encouraged by President Zuma's determined stance, in his capacity as a SADC facilitator towards resolving the Zimbabwean crisis of governance.

We sincerely hope that Zimbabwe's next elections would be conducted in the same spirit and manner that the South Africans held these historic elections.

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